Solve Your Dog's Itchy Skin FAST!

Dealing with your dog’s itchy skin? Veterinarian Dr. Gabrielle Fadl shares expert tips on how to soothe your dog’s dry, irritated skin and stop the scratching. Whether it’s caused by dandruff, allergies, or grooming habits, this video covers simple at-home remedies and signs that it’s time to call your vet.

TRANSCRIPT

Looking for some solutions to your dog's itchy skin? We're here to help. I'm Dr. Gabrielle Fel and this is Rory. One of the most common reasons we see dogs come to the vet is for dry skin. This can happen for a lot of different reasons. We'll go through a couple reasons why we can see dry skin. So either it could be they just are genetically born with drier skin or they're spending a lot of time outside or getting bathed frequently and that can lead to dry skin or they can have dandruff which can be a little bit itchy. Um and so that could be another um potential cause. Checking for dry skin at home. You can sometimes see the coat looks a little duller or might feel a little rougher to the touch. You can sometimes visibly see dandruff or flakiness to the coat as well. For dry skin that is mild and a little bit itchy, you can sometimes use a medicated shampoo at home. Either you can get that from your veterinarian or you can use just an oatmeal based shampoo. And there's many different varieties available for dogs. Fish oils are also a really great option if your dog can tolerate them, which can help uh with some of the dry skin. And then lastly, there are some over-the-counter conditioners that you can use to help moisturize the skin and coat. If you think your pet is scratching because of allergies, uh there could be many reasons why. And usually this is something that just does not get better. It's happening either with the change of the seasons um or it's just not getting better after a day or two. And so it does require some process of elimination and trial and error with your vet. um it might require a change in their diet. It might require um allergy medication um or medicated baths as we talked about before with dry skin. Last but not least, I would also make sure your dog is on monthly flea prevention just to make sure that that is not the culprit. Food can actually play a big role in skin health. Um, we can see a lot of dogs be itchy or uncomfortable as a result of something that they are not tolerating in their diet. So, first and foremost, it's important that your pet eat a balanced diet and definitely talk to your veterinarian about what that means. And then lastly, if if you find that your pet is not tolerating the food that they're eating, um that might require a conversation with your vet to try an elimination diet where we remove certain proteins from their food that they might not be doing well with um that could be causing their itchy skin. In general, I would stick with veterinary labeled products, especially for puppies or whatever the age related group is. Sometimes you can find specific shampoos related to whatever ailment your dog is experiencing. So for itchy skin or dry skin. And then I would avoid blow dryers in general just because they can burn the skin. If you are using it, I would stay far away and make sure it's moving constantly. But towel drying is really the best way to go. So first line defense against itchy skin at home is you can try a bath. Um, if there's something irritating on the skin that they're just feeling uncomfortable about, just removing it with a bath could be all you need to get them feeling better. Deciding when to bring your pet in for itchy skin can rely on a couple of different things. If it's lasting for more than a day or two, or you find your pet is so uncomfortable that they just can't stop scratching, those are all really good reasons to bring them in. What we'll typically do is ask a series of questions about your dog's routine, what they eat, what kind of medications are they on, when they're scratching, is it a certain time of day or certain time of year. Um, and then we may run a couple of different tests. So, skin cytology to see if um there is any infection present on the skin and then potentially considering medication to help them feel more comfortable while we figure out the cause of their itch. A lot of the time, itchy skin is something you can help your dog with at home. Hopefully these tips can help you feel a little bit more equipped on what to look out for. Thanks for watching. See you next time.